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Monday, 5 January 2009

Ireleth with Askam war memorial

Finally got round to looking in some detail at Askam war memorial, or, more properly, Ireleth with Askam.

The long eleven year struggle to establish this imposing monument commemorating the dead of a small mining village in the Furness peninsula is quite a fascinating tale. In the 78 years since its creation the monument itself has changed little but its environs have, as can be seen from these two images. The large blocks of limestone that originally marked the path in front of the memorial together with those surrounding the central area together with the bench have all gone. There are, however, a number of trees now - some quite mature and others planted more recently.

The long story of this imposing memorial starts soon after the armistice of 1918 when Henry Mellon, mining engineer, formed a committee from the village elite; James Poole Atkinson, Dr Cook and Rev E W Ridley, vicar of the parish. There were probably others. Together they resolved to invite Sam Grundy ARIBA of Ulverston to design a memorial.

Grundy drew up a comprehensive design for a village hall but it soon became apparent that against a backdrop of collapse in the mining and steel industry throughout Furness it was hugely over ambitious. He then suggested a memorial cross, to be erected at the station entrance. But this too was a non starter. In desperation the memorial committee finally ordered a bronze plaque for the local church

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A gentle jaunt through a poignant aspect of Cumbria's history.

Longsleddale Memorial Sundial

Longsleddale sundial & others

There are many war memorials in Cumbria. The United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials at the Imperial War Museum lists over 800 in the county but this is a gross underestimate. There are perhaps two or three thousand commemorating conflicts from the middle ages to Iraq & Afghanistan. They take every imaginable form.

This occasional blog describes some of the the finer points of memorial watching and some of my own thoughts on what they seem to say. Please leave comments; I have learnt a lot from peoples observations and memories.

Memorials are of a specific time - they pose many questions; about the validation of war, of death and remembrance and of ever morphing ideas of community or nationhood.

I'm not precious about the pics - they are there for all - download them as you will.

I have used illustrations and info from all over the web and elsewhere. If I have not acknowledged the source or infringed copyright I apologise. Let me know and I will make amends as best I can.

On more recent postings links to associated or interesting websites are highlighted in the text

Me & this

Following a rather dizzy hippy life in Northumberland in the 60s when I somehow got a degree in Fine Art I embarked on a career in the civil service which soon died a natural death. After a further period as a restaurateur I went to Lancaster and got a degree in Independent Studies followed by a Master's Degree in Historical Research. Now retired I do what interests me - history! And that means, among other things, war memorials - an excuse to explore the wonderful county of Cumbria; its towns, villages & churches & people.